They Came In Hoodies

Chapter 32: Here For Us

Gray POV

Unsure where Stella was, I ran down the hall of the castle where my father last had her. Birch ran beside me as we quickly made our way to the bedroom, only to find the door ripped off its hinges.

My stomach dropped as I ran into the empty room. "Stella!" I called out, hoping to hear a response. My eyes scanned around the empty room before I called her name again.

She was here last time, so I thought she would be here again. Not seeing her here was enough to send me into a worried state. The fact that someone ripped the door off caused my panic to soar. I didn't want to believe I was too late, but my mind couldn't help but go there for a moment.

"She's not here Gray," Birch sighed.

"Where could she be?" I asked as I ran my hands through my hair. My breath became hitched as I thought about losing another person at the hands of my father.

"I don't know, but we will find her. We will not leave this castle without her, I promise."

But whether she was alive was going to be another story. We would find her. I promised myself that. I would not leave without Stella. But what feared me the most if we were already too late?

"He's going to pay for this," I seethed.

"I agree. But first let's find Stella. Then you can plot your attack on your father," she responded as she walked towards the window and looked out.

As she looked around, I gave one more sweep around the room, hoping to find any clues. I walked over to bed and sighed in frustration when nothing stood out. There was no sign of a fight besides the broken door. It made me wonder what happened.

"Gray, you should take a look at this," Birch said, snapping me out of my thoughts. She pointed out the window with a frown.

I followed her lead and looked out right beside her. In the yard in front of the castle were at least one hundred Darklings. They stood and roared, prepared to attack, but none of them moved forward towards the castle. It was as if they were waiting on some command.

"What do you think they are doing?" Birch asked.

"I have no idea."

"Do you think they are here for us?"

The thought caused a shiver to creep up my spine. It was one thing to fight off a few. But a hundred, there was no way we could do that. "Let's hope not."

Bitch nodded as the Darklings roared in unison, then charged for the castle. My breath caught in my throat as I remembered all the Darklings stormed the school.

For a second, it reminded me of the war there. All the death and destruction. I didn't think I would have to face something like that again.

"Let's get out of here," Birch said as she pulled on my sleeve.

I nodded as I allowed her to lead me out of the room.

We only had minutes before the Darklings scurried around the castle. I just hoped we could find Stella without running into any of them.

"You have been here before. Where do you think she will be?"

I frowned at the question. The castle was massive. There way no way to know for sure where she was. The best idea I had was to run through every room we could find until we found her.

As we ran down the hall a Darkling rounded the corner and locked eyes with us. It roared as it stopped, ready to attack.

I stared at it as I waited for its next move. I didn't think it would come as quick as it did. This was just a lone Darkling but where were all the other ones? Why was it not calling the rest?